a day in the country

With our first show of the season opening this week and a world premiere heading into rehearsals on Friday, leisurely Saturdays are a luxury.  Last weekend Caleb and I decided to hit the road in search of "old things and wine" in Cambridge-Narrows.  The hour long journe down the 105 to Cambridge Narrows is one of my favourite drives and I try to make it at least once a summer or autumn.   And a stop at  9J Antiques is always a must:  two floors and a large back building packed to the rafter with treasures!  With bigger budget (and a bigger car!) I think we would have happily trucked back some great furniture pieces but in the end we each found a few little items and even a hard-to-source prop for next spring's big musical. 

fall into fredericton

Such as busy and fun weekend!  Kicked things off with a Theatre New Brunswick company barbeque at Caleb's to celebrate the start of our 46th season (!) and the arrival of the Oleanna cast.  Productions are crazy times but I love when new casts arrive and new friendships and memories are made as you create something very special together.

Saturday brought a trip to the Boyce Farmer's Market, of course. It's the most wonderful time of the year at the farmer's markets - colourful, delicious fruits and vegetables and the folks who grow them.  A winning combination.

It's not all food at the market. 

christina martin at wilser's room

One of the great bonuses of contributing to the Fredericton Town Square Social Hub blog is the new people I'm getting to know. You'd think in a town this size we'd all pretty much know each other but there's always a new adventure!  On Tuesday, I hit Wilser's Room with nightlife contributor Emma Chevarie to get to jnow each other and take in a set from Halifax singer-songwriter Christina Martin.   I was a big fan of Christina's last album Two Hearts but hadn't seen her perform yet.  She is a wee pixie and charming between her songs and when she does sing the yearning in her voice will break your heart over and over again.

If you're interested in the live music scene in Fredericton, Emma's blog The Music Runs Through It, is a "must bookmark."  Her passion for live music shines through and it's a great place to find the next band you're going to love.

And check out Christina Martin's new video.  (Very "Glad Girl!")

rock island

Rock Island on Grand Manan

Last Christmas my friend Lori gave me a knitting pattern for the Rock Island shawl.  I'm not easily intimidated but this airy lacy wrap gave me pause - partly because it would be the first time I was knitting lace solely using charts and partly because it was, well, lace. For you non-knitters, lace weight yarn is only slightly heavier than thread.  Only slightly.   I finally took the plunge in August armed with my 4mm circulars and a skein of Madeline Tosh lace in French Grey.   The shawl is constructed by knitting the lace edging first and then picking up stitches and knitting the centre triangle.  The intricate lace edging was coming along well ... and then this happened.

The Rock Island disaster

I was on row 516 of the lace edging when I realized there was a mistake on row 264 that would make proper construction of the shawl impossible. The only solution was unraveling.  Like taking a band-aid off, I did it immediately and quickly and started back at it immediately.  Even with the disaster I finished the shawl in a week (lots of vacation knitting!) and it's probably one of my favourite things I've knit.  Despite being delicate, I didn't want to be too precious about wearing it and wore it to the Sardine Museum during the Summer's End Folk Festival.

Rock Island was designed by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed.  This was my first introduction to Brooklyn Tweed but having flipped through their lookbooks, I'm definitely a fan.  Their work is strongly rooted in traditional techniques (like the Shetland shawl construction of Rock Island) with a contemporary feel and they manage to be at once cozy and elegant.